“What?”
“Is this Mara Makinen?” The man’s voice is an unfamiliar one. I pull back the phone to confirm it’s the same unknown caller.
“Who is this?”
“Miss Makinen, this is Dr. Flemming from Seaview Hospital. I need you to confirm your identity before I continue.”
Seaview Hospital. That’s where my dad’s been living for the last few months. Bile rises in my throat.
“Is my father okay?” I whisper.
The doctor’s tone turns agitated. “Miss Makinen, I need you to conf—”
“This is she,” I rush out. “This is Mara Makinen.”
He blows out an exasperated breath and my fist clenches at his lack of patience. Isn’t that something they teach them in medical school? Asshole. “As I’m sure you’re aware, your father has been at Seaview since his diagnosis, receiving the utmost attention and care. I’m calling because while we saw a bit of progress in the beginning, the results from recent tests we’ve run allow us to believe…”
Dr. Flemming continues speaking but the edges around my vision blur. It’s as though someone’s holding two conch shells up to my ears and his words become a jumbled mess in my mind. Their meanings are lost on me. Dr. Flemming’s words zoom through one side of my head and shoot out the other before I can grab hold of them. Where will they go? Into the air? Maybe they’ll fly around—directionless—until landing in the ears of the nearest living thing. Maybe Cheddar will absorb the words I can’t seem to grasp but it doesn’t seem likely. He’s fast asleep on the couch and I envy his ignorance.
“Miss Makinen?”
“Yes.”
“Miss Makinen, did you understand anything I just said?” His condescending tone makes me feel so small for someone who’s just been told something so big.
I clear my throat, but my voice still comes out wobbly. “I’m going to be honest with you, Doc. You’ve thrown a lot of complicated medical jargon at me in the last two minutes and while I’ve seen all eighteen seasons of Grey’sAnatomy, I’m going to need you to dumb it down for me. What exactly are you saying? I get that my father’s condition has worsened but what does that mean? Do I need to hire another in-home caretaker?”
And for the first time since he’s called, Dr. Flemming’s voice softens, causing terror to fill me. Because I don’t want it. I don’t want the soft voice, the sorry voice, that promises to breathe life into my deepest fear. But life isn’t known for giving us what we want.
“Miss Makinen… it means it’s time you come back to Speck Lake.”